RECIPES

Monday, 5 October 2020

Spending A Little Bit Of Money

 

I woke to fog this morning.  You could tell straight away it was foggy outside, as the sounds were all muffled like I had cottonwool stuffed into my ears.

By 11am the fog had all cleared, and the sun was shining.  By 3pm we had reached 23 degrees Celsius!




After lunch son and I went together to the garden centre and spent some money (easy to do!).

The first things I bought were some new hanging baskets, potting mix to redo my containers, some parsley and a courgette plant, a spray mould remover for the deck, a wand for the hose, and an artificial plant for a dark corner in the living room.




But my big purchase for the day was a 3 metre wide umbrella and concrete base.  It should be brilliant during the summer, and has an easy wind-up and down handle that I can operate by myself.




This hot-air balloon was the first we have seen for quite a while.  I also heard the Shining Cuckoo singing yesterday, a sure sign that summer is nearly here.

Cheers,

Margaret 😊



20 comments:

  1. Ditto Margaret - fog here too. It does something strange to the chugging sound of ship's engines out on the sea. It has made the outdoor cushions feel damp but it is quickly burning off. That's quite a haul you brought back from the garden centre. I'm very impressed by (and envious of) that umbrella.

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    1. I know what you mean about the ships. At Mt Maunganui in a sea fog they used to sound really strange.

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  2. Love the new umbrella. Have not heard a shining cuckoo for a while.

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    1. I always welcome hearing the first one for the season - and then feel sorry for the poor little grey warbler whose nest the cuckoos lay their eggs in.

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  3. Wonderful all. The umbrella was a terrific buy, not just wonderful lol
    Your summer days are coming fast. You'll be sitting out there before you know it.

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  4. Oh to have a garden centre handy - we need to go to Rotorua for good quality plants... We also had fog this morning, and a stunning day afterwards!
    That umbrellas will be so handy in summer - I love mine, although it is somewhat smaller :)
    Stay safe
    Blessings
    Maxine

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  5. I am sure that the garden centre appreciated your patronage!

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  6. Oh, lucky you, I just put our sun-brolly away for good. Enjoy! :-)

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  7. Ah the inevitable signs of spring. I envy you as we gradually make our way into winter.

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  8. Hello,

    I like those baskets, the umbrella and table are nice for your patio. It is cool seeing the hot air balloons. We are having a chilly foggy morning. Take care, enjoy your day! Wishing you a happy new week!

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  9. Oh Margaret, please don’t say summer is almost there. That makes it winter here. I’d like another few weeks of autumn.

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    1. Sorry Marie! But I think I will be loving your cold snowy winter pictures when it is hot and sticky here :)

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  10. Yeah for shopping! What a pretty place to sit in the yard now in the shade!

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  11. I love clicking on your blog and seeing that header photo. New Zealand has such pretty farmland, hills, bush, etc. October does seem to be the month when we look at plants, prepare for summer. I'm looking forward to the warmth and sun.

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  12. It's been perfect weather here, so much sun. If you can check out trade me, I regularly buy plants off there for around $5.00 each, smaller than what you buy in the shops but still just as good, saves me loads of money.

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  13. The new umbrella is a very practical thing to have when the sun beats down on the garden. It looks nice too. I have never tried those coir baskets and look forward to hearing your opinion of them. (Can they be reused another year?)

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    1. I have had coir baskets before and can usually get two seasons out of them, sometimes three. The birds love to attack them for nesting materials!

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  14. A garden center is always an easy place to spend money! At least it is something you get to enjoy for a while. That umbrella would not last here...I might could fly with it like Mary Poppins at some point though! In all honesty, though, until the one storm this past summer, we have had quieter weather than is normal and it might have survived for a while.

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    1. Haha, we can get Mary Poppins winds sometimes as well. The umbrella will only be put up when we are using it (it can be wound down and tied when not in use), and if really bad stormy weather is forecast son can put it into the garage. I had a big umbrella fly up over the house once and it was rather scary - not something I want to repeat :)

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Thank-you for visiting my blog. I love it when you leave a comment so please feel free to have your say. Have a great day! Margaret xx